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Rear-facing child seats or infant carriers should never be placed
in the front seats.
Installing child safety seats with combination lap and shoulder
belts
The rear seat head restraints must be removed when using a child
seat.
Air bags can kill or injure a child in a child seat.NEVERplace a
rear-facing child seat in front of an active air bag. If you must
use a forward-facing child seat in the front seat, move the seat all the
way back.
1. Position the child safety seat in a
seat with a combination lap and
shoulder belt.
Children 12 and under should be properly restrained in the rear
seat whenever possible.
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2. Pull down on the shoulder belt
and then grasp the shoulder belt
and lap belt together.
3. While holding the shoulder and
lap belt portions together, route the
tongue through the child seat
according to the child seat
manufacturer’s instructions. Be sure
the belt webbing is not twisted.
4. Insert the belt tongue into the
proper buckle (the buckle closest to
the direction the tongue is coming
from) for that seating position until
you hear a snap and feel the latch
engage. Make sure the tongue is
latched securely by pulling on it.
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5. To put the retractor in the
automatic locking mode, grasp the
shoulder portion of the belt and pull
downward until all of the belt is
extracted and a click is heard.
6. Allow the belt to retract. The belt will click as it retracts to indicate it
is in the automatic locking mode.
7. Pull the lap belt portion across
the child seat toward the buckle and
pull up on the shoulder belt while
pushing down with your knee on the
child seat.
8. Allow the safety belt to retract to
remove any slack in the belt.
9. Before placing the child in the
seat, forcibly tilt the seat forward
and back to make sure the seat is
securely held in place. To check
this, grab the seat at the belt path
and attempt to move it side to side
and forward and back. There should
be no more than one inch of
movement for proper installation.
10. Try to pull the belt out of the retractor to make sure the retractor is
in the automatic locking mode (you should not be able to pull more belt
out). If the retractor is not locked, unbuckle the belt and repeat steps
two through nine.
Check to make sure the child seat is properly secured before each use.
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Attaching child safety seats with tether straps
Most new forward-facing child safety seats include a tether strap which
goes over the back of the seat and hooks to an anchoring point. Tether
straps are available as an accessory for many older safety seats. Contact
the manufacturer of your child seat for information about ordering a
tether strap.
The rear seating positions of your vehicle are equipped with built-in
tether strap anchors located behind the seats on the roof panel in the
cargo area.
The tether strap anchors in your vehicle are in the following positions:
Attach the tether strap only
to the appropriate tether
anchor as shown. The tether strap
may not work properly if attached
somewhere other than the correct
tether anchor.
1. Position the child safety seat on the seat cushion.
2. Route the child safety seat tether strap over the back of the seat.
For vehicles with adjustable head restraints, remove the head restraints
first, place under the front seat for storage, and then route the tether
strap over the top of the seatback.
3. Locate the correct anchor for the
selected seating position.
There are three tether anchors
located on the headliner at the rear
of the vehicle.
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4. Clip the tether strap to the
anchor as shown.
The arrow in the above graphic
points toward the front of the
vehicle.
If the tether strap is clipped
incorrectly, the child safety
seat may not be retained properly
in the event of a collision.
5. Refer to theInstalling child
safety seats in combination lap
and shoulder belt seating positionssection of this chapter for further
instructions to secure the child safety seat.
6. Tighten the child safety seat tether strap according to the
manufacturer’s instructions.
If the safety seat is not anchored properly, the risk of a child
being injured in a collision greatly increases.
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Attaching safety seats with LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for
Children) attachments for child seat anchors
Some child safety seats have two rigid or webbing mounted attachments
that connect to two anchors at certain seating positions in your vehicle.
This type of child seat eliminates the need to use seat belts to attach the
child seat. For forward-facing child seats, the tether strap must also be
attached to the proper tether anchor. SeeAttaching safety seats with
tether strapsin this chapter.
Your vehicle has LATCH anchors for child seat installation at the
following locations:
The anchors on both sides of the
center of the rear seat are provided
primarily for child seats at the
outboard seats, and are further
apart than the pairs of lower
anchors for child seat installation at
other seats. A child seat with rigid
LATCH attachments cannot be
installed at the center rear seat. A
child seat with LATCH attachments on belt webbing can be used at the
center rear seat unless a child seat at an outboard rear seat is attached
to one of these lower anchors. Install a child seat onto the lower anchors
at the center rear seat ONLY IF the child restraint manufacturer
recommends that the child seat can be installed to anchors that are
spaced up to 500 mm (19 in) apart.
Never attach two LATCH child safety seats to the same anchor.
In a crash, one anchor may not be strong enough to hold two
child safety seat attachments and may break, causing serious injury or
death.
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The lower anchors for child seat
installation are located at the rear
section of the second row seat
between the cushion and seat back.
The LATCH anchors are below the
locator symbols on the seat back.
Follow the child seat manufacturer’s instructions to properly install a
child seat with LATCH attachments.
Attach LATCH lower attachments of the child seat only to the
anchors shown.
If you install a child seat with rigid LATCH attachments, do not tighten
the tether strap enough to lift the child seat off the vehicle seat cushion
when the child is seated in it. Keep the tether strap just snug without
lifting the front of the child seat. Keeping the child seat just touching the
vehicle seat gives the best protection in a severe crash.
Each time you use the safety seat, check that the seat is properly
attached to the lower anchors and tether anchor. Try to tilt the child
seat from side to side. Also try to tug the seat forward. Check to see if
the anchors hold the seat in place.
If the safety seat is not anchored properly, the risk of a child
being injured in a crash greatly increases.
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A
Air bag supplemental restraint
system ............................96–97, 100
and child safety seats ..............98
description ........................97, 100
disposal ....................................103
driver air bag ....................99, 101
indicator light .................100, 102
operation ...........................99, 101
passenger air bag .............99, 101
side air bag ..............................100
Air cleaner filter ...............214, 220
All Wheel Drive (AWD),
driving off road .........................130
Ambulance packages ....................7
Antifreeze
(see Engine coolant) ................196
Anti-lock brake system
(see Brakes) ..............................119
Anti-theft system ........................73
arming the system ....................73
disarming a triggered system ..74
Audio system
Single CD ..................................15
Audio system
(see Radio) ................15, 18, 22, 26
Automatic transaxle
fluid, adding ............................211
fluid, checking ........................211
Automatic transmission
driving an automatic
overdrive .................................124
fluid, refill capacities ..............220
fluid, specification ..................225
Auxiliary power point .................49Axle
lubricant specifications ..223, 225
refill capacities ........................220
B
Battery .......................................194
acid, treating emergencies .....194
jumping a disabled battery ....164
maintenance-free ....................194
replacement, specifications ...220
servicing ..................................194
BeltMinder ...................................92
Brakes ........................................119
anti-lock ...................................119
anti-lock brake system (ABS)
warning light ...........................119
fluid, checking and adding ....211
fluid, refill capacities ..............220
fluid, specifications .........223, 225
lubricant specifications ..223, 225
parking ....................................120
shift interlock ..........................121
Bulbs ............................................39
C
Calculating load ........................143
Capacities for refilling fluids ....220
Cargo area shade ........................55
Cassette tape player .............15, 22
CD-single premium ...............18, 26
Cell phone use ............................54
Certification Label ....................227
Changing a tire .........................158
Child safety restraints ..............104
child safety belts ....................104
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Index
Index
231